


Breaking The Ice (With Explosions)

by LoonyLoomy



Series: Anarchist, Thief, Demolitionist, Hero? [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Nicknames, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Redemption, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-16 11:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7266889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoonyLoomy/pseuds/LoonyLoomy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Junkrat gives Mei a present. It does not go well.</p><p>[Sequel to Blast From The Past]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breaking The Ice (With Explosions)

**Author's Note:**

> Relevant voice lines for those that might not have seen them all:
> 
> Mei: You're just a no-good bully. How can you even look at yourself in the mirror?  
> Junkrat: That's cold.
> 
> Mei: Tracer, you're so amazing! You inspire me.  
> Tracer: Mei, you're the real hero.
> 
> Hanzo: So, thief. Where do you keep your great treasure? Surely you don't have it on you!  
> Junkrat: Treasure? S-sure, I don't know anything you're talking about.
> 
> Reaper: What did you find in there rat?  
> Junkrat: No idea what ya sayin mate
> 
> Junkrat on Numbani: This place is the worst. Let's turn it into one big scrapheap!
> 
> Hover for Mandarin/Russian/Australian translations! Mobile users, they'll be in the end notes too.
> 
> Enjoy! And please feel free to leave me any questions/suggestions/critiques in a comment or check out my [Tumblr account](http://www.loonyloomy.tumblr.com)

Finishing the last sentence of the research paper she’d been reading, Mei let out a sigh. She closed the tab and checked the time—wow, it was half past one already? The hunger she’d been ignoring until now pushed itself to the front of her mind, so she resigned herself to bookmarking any pieces of promising research for later and shutting down her laptop.

 _Click!_ A bone in her shoulder popped when Mei stood up and stretched. “Phew. Maybe I should take a walk after lunch…” she thought out-loud to herself, crossing the space of her small room. When she opened the door, she stopped at the sight of a box sitting outside it.

It looked big enough to fit a medium-sized cake, slightly dented, and coloured white with a note on top. She picked it up and read the message written in large capital letters: “Specially for you!”

“Huh. How lovely! I wonder who it’s from.”

Mei turned around with the intention of putting it on her desk, but as soon as she popped the lid off, she squealed and dropped the box at the loud _bang!_ that burst out from it. An arm automatically went up to shield her face from… _an explosion_?

Opening her eyes, she gaped at the thousands of white specks now covering everything from her clothes to the walls, reaching right up to the ceiling and getting stuck to all the nooks and crannies of her pieces of equipment. Disbelievingly, Mei looked into the now mostly-empty box. All that was left inside it was a spring mechanism and a cheery card—and when Mei saw the signature smiley face sitting under the word “Surprise!” she was _fuming_.

She didn’t even take the time to brush off the faux-snow or respond to her drone’s curious beeps, just marched straight down to the cafeteria where she hoped a certain _someone_ would still be.

Unluckily for him, Junkrat was strolling towards the very exit that Mei burst through, Roadhog close behind. He perked up when he saw her. “Aw, you got my prezzie! Did ya like it?”

“ _No_ , Junkrat, I do _not_ appreciate being the target for your disrespectful pranks. I’m not going to stay quiet when you try to bully me or any other member of the team; you can’t just do whatever you feel like!”

“Bully you?” he wondered, shoulders slumping. “I’m missin’ something here. Thought you liked snow? Heck, you’re wearin’ a jumper with snowflakes all over it right now!”

She looked down at her light blue sweater, patterned with snowflakes, yes, _and also_ half-covered with whatever synthetic material he’d used in his little stunt. She angrily brushed off as much of it as she could and turned a disapproving stare towards Junkrat.

Behind him, Roadhog took a few lumbering steps closer. His mask was focused on Mei, steady and emotionless. But she refused to be intimidated into silence.

“You turned my room into a _mess,_ you— _ègùn_ _._ ”

“You mean a winter wonderland!” he corrected with a snicker.

Mei opened her mouth to object only to get distracted by a flash of blue in her peripheral. Before she knew it, Tracer was standing in between them all, palms out in a placating gesture. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys! Let’s all just slow down for a minute, okay?”

“Not what you usually like to suggest, mate,” Junkrat said, grinning.

“ _Ha ha_ , very funny, Mr. Jokesy Jokerson. Now, Mei, what happened? You’re obviously pretty worked up about this, so, maybe it’d be best to get you something to eat and we can talk about it. What cha think, luv?”

“Oh, um…” Mei finally took the time to observe the rest of the cafeteria. She could see a scattering of people sitting at the rows of tables, maintenance staff and Overwatch members, with a few immediately standing out to her: Doctor Ziegler, Reinhardt and—oh _no_ , Zarya had seen the whole thing, too?! She wilted and stammered out, “I-I’m sorry, everyone, sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to bother anyone, so sorry…”

She saw Tracer and Junkrat exchanging a look, the latter giving her a casual shrug, before Tracer touched her arm and led her towards the food stalls. “I bet everyone’s surprised to see you acting so fiery, Mei-Ling, heehee. Ooh! I would recommend the pasta; it was deeee-licious! And vegetarian, of course.”

Mei peeked over her shoulder. Junkrat and Roadhog were talking—well, Junkrat was talking to him—and walking out. “You’ve already eaten? You don’t need to stay just for me, Lena, really. If you have other things to do, I don’t want to keep you,” she lamented, picking up a tray and placing a bowl of pasta on it, as well as some ice cream and a glass of water.

“Hey, what are friends for? Besides, I wanna stay on your good side so you’ll cook your _a-mei-zing_ baozi for me again some time.”

Mei ducked her head when a smile blossomed across her face. She thanked her earnestly, still delighted that someone so inspiring considered her a friend.

“No problem, luv! Now, come on, let’s sit over here, and you can tell me what exactly went down between you and Junkrat.”

“Ah, yes…” Mei began. She took a seat at the table Tracer had picked, one near the edge of the room without anyone else nearby. “Well, I found a box outside my room…”

She quickly went through what had happened, including what Junkrat had written in his little notes, in between bites of her meal. Tracer listened with a neutral expression on her face until she’d finished.

“I simply don’t feel like I can ever respect someone who doesn’t show the same respect for the world or people around him,” Mei went on, poking at her food.

“You know, I get where you’re coming from, Mei, I really do. But… Do you want me to be honest with you?”

“Of course! Your opinion is very important to me.”

Tracer’s face scrunched up for a second as she considered her words. “I think, in this case, Junkrat was genuinely trying to do something nice for you; he just went about it in the wrong way. I mean…we _know_ what the Outback is like, so it’s not surprising that he hasn’t quite gotten to grips with what being kind means to the rest of the world.”

“That’s true,” Mei conceded, pushing away her finished bowl of pasta, “but this isn’t only about a single ‘gift’. The first thing he wanted to do outside of the Outback was to destroy and kill and steal. Overwatch is meant to care for our planet and its inhabitants—how can we still say that if there are people like him on our team?”

Tracer bit her lip and leaned her head on her hand, tapping out a rhythm on the table with the other. “It’s better to have him with us than against us,” she said finally. “Whatever info Junkrat has given away about the Australian Omnium, it’s travelled a lot faster in the criminal world than in ours. If we can earn his trust and hear the full story, we’ll be one step ahead.

“That’s why we initially hired him, anyway. Not the nicest reasoning, but Overwatch has always had to make difficult decisions like that. So really, what I’d say is more important is that…I believe in him, Mei. I think he’s changing. Learning what it means to be a hero. We have to give him a chance.”

Mei frowned. She hated to disagree with Tracer, but she wasn’t convinced yet. “Are you sure? I heard him tell his bodyguard that he wanted to turn Numbani into a…a ‘scrapheap’, and that mission was only a few weeks ago.”

Tracer sighed. “Honestly, I’m impressed he even came in the first place, luv. I don’t condone his anti-Omnic feelings at all, but the best solution to prejudice is understanding, right? Seeing the unity in Numbani was a good first step.”

“I suppose so…” Mei looked down at her lap, twiddling her thumbs together. “And…well, we all know why people distrust the Omnics as much as they do. It is the same for Zarya, too. Oh, I-I mean…not that that is a concern of mine!”

Tracer’s face when from serious to joyful in a second. “Now _this_ is a conversation I’m keen on having. I love seeing how much you fancy her; it’s so adorable! Please say you’re going to tell her soon! Please, please, please?”

Mei checked if Zarya was still in the cafeteria, relief flooding through her when she was nowhere in sight. “No, I—just because I told you doesn’t mean you should tease me about it!” She felt her cheeks grow hot and shoved a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth to try and cool them off.

“I’m _noooooot!_ ” she cajoled. “I just need to know when you’re gonna tell her so I can start planning your wedding.”

Mei let out a groan, dropping her head into her hands. She honestly wished they were still talking about Overwatch’s morality issues instead. The climatologist let out a quiet “What did I do to deserve this?” in Mandarin before saying, “I don’t know whether she likes me back. I want to spend more time with her first, that’s all. If she acts like maybe she feels the same way…then, I’ll be less reluctant.”

Tracer beamed and zipped out of her seat to give her a hug. “Ooooh, you’re gonna make the best couple together! I can’t wait!”

Mei patted her arm awkwardly, embarrassed and pleased all at the same time. “You are very nice to say that, but can we please stop talking about my love life now?”

“ _Okay_ , fine.” She straightened up and put a finger on her chin for a moment. “Tell you what. I’m going to ask Junkrat to help clean up your room, explain why you took his gift as an offence—hopefully he’ll understand. If you want…you can hang around, talk to him, see what he’s like when he isn’t, er, blowing stuff up. If not, you can go out for a little while, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t mess with any of your things. Which would you prefer to do?”

“Do you think having another conversation with him could change how I feel?” Mei asked, picking up her tray and starting to walk over to the rack to put it away.

“Maybe!” Tracer said with a shrug and a smile as she followed. She looped her arm through Mei’s, careful not to jostle the tray too much. It made it a little more awkward to walk, but Mei knew how important physical contact was to her friend, and the closeness was, in any case, comforting. “I don’t know for sure, luv. But, personally, I found he was easier to get on with when it was just the two of us. Roadhog is, erm…a very…imposing presence.”

Mei shuddered. The only time she’d ever seen Roadhog express any sort of emotion was in the battlefield, laughing when he pumped a Talon agent full of scrap metal. It was a small comfort that he hadn’t tried to hurt anyone or, indeed, interact with anyone on the team besides Junkrat.

“…Okay. I will talk to him.” She set aside the tray and turned to Lena. “I just have one more question.”

“Fire away, sweetheart.”

“Do you trust him?”

That caught Tracer off-guard. She looked like she had to work through some sort of internal conflict before she could meet Mei’s eyes again and answer. “…Yes.” She nodded to herself and spoke with a sure tone. “I wouldn’t deserve to earn his own trust if I didn’t. I mean, I thought I’d never give him one of my pulse bombs— ‘over my dead body’ were my exact words, actually, heh—but then he…he made me happy to do it. And I wasn’t given any reason to regret that decision afterwards, either. So, yes, I do trust Junkrat.”

Mei stared at her for a few seconds, taking everything in. “You feel very strongly about this,” she said quietly. “I hope I can come to believe in him as much as you do.”

Tracer gave her a gentle smile. “I just want to do what I can to help people see their own potential, and the good they can do for others. The world needs that, especially now.”

“You really are incredible, Tracer.”

“Oh, shush, _you’re_ the brilliant climatologist dedicating your life to the health of the planet here, not me.” She laughed and slung an arm around Mei’s shoulders, and the tender moment they’d shared settled itself into a reassuring warmth in Mei’s chest. They walked over to the exit together before Tracer pulled away, telling her that she’d go find Junkrat and send him to her room.

 

* * *

 

Mei was still thinking everything over as she walked through the Watchpoint’s corridors, so really, it wasn’t surprising that she managed to walk straight into someone when she turned a corner.

“Ah! I’m so sorry!” she babbled, taking a step back as quickly as she could.

“Do not worry about it, myshka,” a familiar Russian voice said. Mei adjusted her glasses and looked up at Zarya, a flustered smile growing on her face. “After all, you have just spent much time looking out for the team; you must remember to look out for yourself, too.”

“I didn’t mean to make a scene…” Mei replied, fiddling with her sweater sleeves. Being this close to Zarya always made her feel like she was seeing her for the first time—like she would never get over how tall and gorgeous she was.

“No, no, I was very impressed,” Zarya grinned. “Those of us who fight for a cause, we are always working for the cause, _da_? This is how we are united. It is hard to feel united with those who do not have one themselves.”

“Right, yes, exactly! That’s exactly how I feel, too.”

Zarya chuckled and patted Mei’s shoulder. “You are strong enough to stand up for yourself, but if you want any more womanpower, I am happy to provide. I assume the current issue is sorted now?”

“Oh! Yes. At least, it is in the process of being sorted.”

“I will leave you to it then, Mei. I am glad we have you looking out for our best interests. Here, before I go, let me see those strong guns!” Zarya raised an eyebrow at her and flexed her arms.

Mei laughed at copied the move, positive that she didn’t look at all impressive like the goddess standing across from her did. Still, it was worth it to see the proud expression on Zarya’s face, and Mei was not ashamed to admit she’d probably be thinking of Zarya flexing for her in all of her daydreams from now on.

 

* * *

 

A portion of her good mood dissipated when she came back to the disaster that was her room. How could Junkrat have ever thought this was something she _wanted_?

Snowball activated itself at the sound of her coming in, floating off from the counter to greet her.

“Oh, no! Duìbùqǐ, Snowball! I can’t believe I left you here with all this stuff on you,” Mei apologized. She took a hold of the drone and carefully wiped off the powder from its face, thankful to find a happy expression underneath it. Snowball whirred and flew around her head a couple of times before settling back on the counter.

 _Knock knock knock._ “Oi, I’m here now. Lemme in, yeah?”

Mei begrudgingly opened the door and reassessed her previous thought: of _course_ someone who let themselves stay coated in soot all the time would think nothing of covering an entire room with fake snow. Junkrat hobbled in, looking blatantly nosey as his gaze travelled around the space with interest.

“If this was anything but your fault, I would offer my help. As it is, I am going to leave you to it.” Mei placed herself on the bed, keeping a close eye on Junkrat.

He giggled and said, “Sure, mate, gotcha. Gotta say, I’m pretty pleased with my handiwork, though. Looks like everything worked just how I wanted it to!” He picked up the box that had been left on the floor and turned to the counter; Mei noticed a dustpan and brush held in one hand, but she couldn’t see much of what he was doing with his back facing her.

“I thought you meant this as a present, not a prank? A ‘winter wonderland’?” Mei questioned dubiously.

“Right! Made the snow look pretty good, di’nt I? Nice and soft, but not cold or damp, so it ain’t a problem to have it inside. Took me all morning to make a good mix.” He gathered some of it up and rubbed it between his finger and thumb, watching it sprinkle downwards.

Junkrat had…synthesized it himself? She had to admit, she was surprised (and the tiniest bit impressed) to hear that. But…there was one more thing… “It hardly seems like snow when it’s sticking to all the walls, Junkrat.”

“What d’ya mean? Snow’s sticky, ain’t it?”

“… _No_.”

Junkrat looked at her in surprise. “Really? Thought it was, from the pictures I saw. Coz it stays on mountaintops and tree branches an’ all that.”

Mei’s brows furrowed. The speed with which she had to go from admiring his ingenuity to questioning his inexperience bemused her. “You haven’t ever seen it for yourself?”

“Coldest place me and Roadhog have been is England, and the only weather they seem to have is _wet and miserable_ ,” he said with another manic giggle.

“I see…” Her eyes drifted over to Snowball, currently ‘chilling out’ in sleep mode. Maybe she could…

“So, that Russian gal really makes ya melt, so to speak, does she?”

Mei jerked away from whatever idea might have been forming to gawk at him. “Yí?! How do you know that? Did I—am I _that_ obvious about it?”

Junkrat snickered. “Bright as an explosion, mate!”

Mei’s eyes widened at Junkrat’s back. All she could think was ‘ _Does Zarya know?_ ’ and ‘ _Does that mean she doesn’t like me back if she hasn’t said anything?’_ and _‘How am I going to tell Tracer the bad news?!’_

“Nah, just kiddin’. Had no idea ‘til I saw this.” He held up a photo of Zarya that Mei had printed out for herself, and, more pressingly, _kept out of sight in one of her notebooks_.

She stormed over to him, snatching the photo out of his hand. Her notebook was lying open and she couldn’t see any sign of Junkrat having done anything but fiddle around with her stuff. “I can’t believe you! Not only have you not started cleaning like you’re _supposed_ to do, you’ve also been rude enough to mess around with my private things! How dare you?”

“Jeez, calm down, mate, s’not that big of a deal.”

Mei smacked him on the arm. _Hard._

“Oi!” he exclaimed, drawing away from her and holding onto the sore spot with his prosthetic hand. “Alright, alright, I’m sorry! I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would upset you. Should’ve asked.”

“And?”

“And I won’t do it again,” he grumbled. “And…tellin’ you to calm down wasn’t right either. Sorry for that, too.”

Mei narrowed her eyes at him, but decided she was satisfied enough with the apology. She gestured to the countertop. “Go on, then.”

Junkrat—the explosion-obsessed mercenary with more than a full foot of height on her—heaved a sigh and did as she said.

“S’pose it’s not surprising that we don’t see eye-to-eye, anyway. You freeze stuff, I set stuff on fire. Loads’a fun, setting stuff on fire! But not great for much besides beautiful, glorious destruction,” he pondered with a grin. And yet…there was a strange contemplative edge to his expression, a sort of…genuine inquiry about the nature of their situation.

“You’d be surprised,” Mei said without really thinking about it. “There are some ecosystems with species that rely on forest fires to clear the area and prompt germination or reproduction, which can really be integral to its vitality and health.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Um… What I mean to say is…fire provides an opportunity for new life, a new start. Fire can mean renewal and rebirth. Like the phoenix, you see?”

“Oh.” Junkrat paused his cleaning for a while; Mei was pretty sure this was the longest she’d seen him go without talking.

She replayed her words over in her head, wondering if that was her telling herself that she was being too hard on him. That she wasn’t giving him the chance Tracer had asked her for—or rather, the chance that Junkrat may deserve.

“So!” Junkrat started, apparently done with his uncharacteristic quietness. “What is it about the weight-slogger that, hehe, thaws your ice block? Un…unless you don’t want me talkin’ about that, I dunno.”

“…No, it’s fine,” Mei replied, feeling cautious about having such a personal conversation with Junkrat but resolving to at least see what it would be like first. With more enthusiasm, she continued, “I mean, have you _seen_ her?”

He let out a bark of laughter as he moved onto dusting off her bookshelf. “Fair point, mate, fair point.”

Mei smiled and, after a moment, went on, “I admire her greatly. The way she is fighting to protect her home…that pride and strength shines through in everything she does. And—and I would love to go mountain-climbing with her; she’d be an amazing person to share adventures with.”

“Aww, brings tears to me eyes just hearin’ ya talk about her.” Junkrat sniffed and wiped away an imaginary tear with a wide smirk on his face.

“Hmph. If you’re not going to take this seriously, let me just mention that if you repeat _any_ of this to Zarya, I _will_ freeze all of your belongings and make your bombs unusable.”

He gasped and spun around, holding a hand to his chest. “You _wouldn’t._ ”

Mei did nothing but hold his eye contact in response.

“Fine, scout’s honour, no tellin’ anyone anything! _Cor_ , you’re conchy. But it’s your loss, Snowflake, betcha she’s feeling just the same way as you.”

She decided not to comment on that.

Junkrat dumped a bunch of the fake snow into the box and moved to a different part of the room. He stopped in front of her drone, tilting his head at it and giving it a poke. Snowball’s eyes lit up and it beeped at him indignantly.

“Are you antagonising my companion?”

Junkrat’s lip curled. “Forgot you had this,” he said. “Ah, well. This one ain’t so bad.”

“’This one’? What makes you say that?”

“S’not pretending to be something it’s not. It’s just a drone. Those robots what think they deserve rights? Other people’s _homes_? Thinkin’ they’re as good as actual humans even though they wouldn’t even _exist_ without us? They’re the worst ones.” His voice came out low and dark, not a trace of humour or nonchalance in it.

Mei took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Snowball may not have A.I. as advanced as other Omnics, but that doesn’t make it less important to me as a friend. Something to keep me company, to care for…something to greet me in the morning so I don’t feel like I’m waking up alone…” She held herself as an intense shiver ran through her. Pushing aside bad memories, she collected herself once more. “Omnics all have their own personalities, their own likes and dislikes, and they change and grow depending on their experiences. They can be selfish, or they can be kind, just the same as us, Junkrat.

“Overwatch is giving you a chance to prove yourself in spite of your history. You might want to consider whether you can do the same for them.”

Junkrat scowled, but, for whatever reason, didn’t say anything more.

A tense silence followed before Mei cleared her throat and added, “Let me clarify, I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do. My views don’t stop me from knowing the Australian government’s actions were wrong or from understanding why the Liberation Front did what it did.” _'And why the Junkers have to make themselves believe that an irradiated wasteland is better than a place shared with Omnics,'_ she thought to herself. “I am only trying to let you know about other stories that can paint the Omnics in a better light.”

“…Sure. Okay.” Junkrat dumped another panful of snow into the box. “Cheers, I guess. For, y’know. Trying.”

Mei chewed on her lower lip and sat back down on the bed. “Thank you too. For cleaning.”

“Heh. Right you are to thank me—think of all the explosions I’m missin’ out on.”

“Is that really all you do in your free time?”

“Nah! Sometimes I’m sleeping,” he protested with a small chuckle.

“Aha, yes, very funny. And, um…what about…Roadhog? What does he do while you’re…busy?” Mei asked, struggling to find something with which she could start a conversation.

“Oh, he’s probably working on his motorcycle right now. Maybe doing some sewing, seein’ if there’s anywhere else he can fit a pig face. Stupid galah,” he said affectionately.

“Really? Sewing?”

“Yeah! Or he’s polishing off his chain hook.”

Mei blanched at that, even though that was the sort of answer she had expected much more than ‘sewing’. “That’s…interesting…”

Junkrat giggled. “What about you, Snowflake? What d’ya get up to besides sciencing?”

“That isn’t a word.”

“Mate. I’m Australian. You really think I care?”

Unexpectedly, Mei found herself laughing, small snuffling sounds she tried to hide behind her hand.

Junkrat’s eyebrows shot up. “Did—did I actually just manage to make you laugh?”

“N-no!” Mei denied, but it was a poor defence considering she still hadn’t stopped.

“The Ice Queen shows me her warmer side! Will wonders never cease?!”

She covered her red face from Junkrat as he incessantly nudged her with his elbow. “Olivia Rai!” she cried out in desperation.

“Ye—! Wait, what?”

“I like watching movies with Olivia Rai,” Mei said, a little out of breath. “She’s an actress.”

“Alright, for your benefit, I’m gonna let you get away with that completely obvious subject change. So…what kinda movies does she do?”

 

* * *

  

In retrospect, as much as she didn’t want to at the time, sharing that joke with Junkrat had done a lot to make her feel more comfortable. He hung around for longer than he had to, getting distracted by whatever caught his attention (mostly shiny things or anything that had the slightest capacity to be used in a bomb of some sort). Every time he got tired of cleaning up and declared he absolutely would not do any more, no way, he’s _definitely_ done enough already, Mei managed to ‘gently persuade’ him to keep going until the whole place was spotless again. And when he was about to leave with the gift to throw it away, Mei suggested that, well, maybe it would be alright if she kept it for a bit, you know, for no particular reason.

The amount that Junkrat had brightened after hearing that didn’t put Mei in a better mood at all. Nope. Really it didn’t.

 

* * *

 

Mei walked through to the cafeteria, scanning the tables to see who she could eat dinner with tonight.

“Hey,” a deep, guttural voice said from behind her.

The climatologist turned around; when she saw it was Roadhog, she warily checked to see if there was anyone else he could be talking to.

There wasn’t.

“Uh…yes?”

“You manage to make Rat do something he didn’t want to do?”

She tried not to show how apprehensive she felt even as she thought _‘Is he going to punish me for mistreating his friend?’_ Standing up straight, Mei responded, “Y-yes. It was only fair that he cleaned up after himself,” in a voice that only quivered a little bit.

“Good.”

Her posture dropped abruptly. “Huh?”

“Not many people who can.”

Roadhog must have seen the question in her eyes because he continued, “Brit promised him bubble tea. He hates cleaning.”

Mei didn’t know what to say to that.

“Oi, Roadhog! Can’t believe you didn’t wait up for me!” Junkrat shouted, catching up to the man as fast as his peg leg allowed. His look of annoyance disappeared when he saw Mei. “Oh, hey Snowflake. Don’t mind us, me an’ Roadie will let you enjoy yer dinner in peace. Come on, ya big lug.”

Mei was still lost for words as she watched them saunter off, Roadhog placing a massive hand on Junkrat’s hair and ruffling it, making Junkrat ineffectually try and bat his arm away.

Had Roadhog just been…friendly to her?

**Author's Note:**

> ègùn - bully  
> baozi - Chinese bun with filling  
> myshka - little mouse  
> da - yes  
> duìbùqǐ - I'm sorry  
> yí - expression of surprise  
> conchy - conscientious person; would prefer to study than enjoy themselves  
> galah - silly person
> 
> I like the idea that the only people Junkrat will take orders from are a huge, merciless killer who finds joy in causing others pain...and someone who is literally a marshmallow in human form.
> 
> I went back and forth about whether or not to include ships or just keep everything platonic, partially because it's nice to have platonic team bonding fics, and partially because I ship all my faves with like 5 different characters, BUT ultimately I decided on some Mei/Zarya goodness because everything's better with f/f ships
> 
> Not sure when the next fic will come, or how many fics there'll be in this because I'm really bad at keeping focused on a project until it's finished, but we shall see! And if you want to see me write anything within this verse or outside of it, do let me know!


End file.
